On the first Day of Pentecost, everyone heard the good news of God in their own tongue. Even though we may feel discouraged by the declining influence of the church and the ways contemporary society dismisses the church, we can take heart that even in its earliest days, outsiders made disparaging remarks about the church. Bystanders mistook the power of the Holy Spirit for inebriation. Now we face new challenges to make God’s truth available to everyone, in his or her own tongue. The church still claims the unexpected, unifying and empowering influence of the Holy Spirit for its life and mission. youtu.be/rRL7nHNNdh0